Wahala dey for Italian football as fans dey complain say Serie A clubs no dey give homegrown players enough chance. The matter come show clear clear for Easter Monday match wey Udinese play against Como for 2026 season. Out of all the 22 players wey start the match, only one Italian dey among them – Nicolo Zaniolo for Udinese side.
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Como wey Cesc Fabregas dey coach na one of the worst offenders for this mata. For the whole season so far, only one Italian player don wear Como jersey for Serie A: 32-year-old centre-back Edoardo Goldaniga. And even Goldaniga self, he just play two substitute appearances wey total 14 minutes for league. He only get one full 90-minute run-out for Coppa Italia second round.
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Fans don dey talk tire for social media. One supporter comment for X say, “If Italy wants to fix the problems with its national team, it’ll have to go through a change in the league regulations forcing a minimum number of Italians on the pitch.” Another person yarn say, “I don’t agree with setting a minimum number of Italians on the pitch, but this is embarrassing.”
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But some fans see the mata from different angle. One talk say, “But it would be wrong to force Italians to play without any merit whatsoever. The focus should be on the youth teams, on why there aren’t any Italians capable of being starters in a mediocre league like Serie A.” Another add say, “We keep failing to understand that the problem isn’t foreign players, but a rotten system that favours agents and those willing to pay, with 80-year-olds sitting in the positions of power. We’ll make it to the World Cup in 2042.”
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The match wey cause all this talk na Udinese vs Como wey play for Stadio Friuli in Udine on April 6, 2026. Timothy Rogers snap photo for Getty Images show Arthur Atta of Udinese wey fall inside penalty area after Diego Carlos of Como challenge am.
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For the match statistics, Udinese wey Maduka Okoye dey keep goal conceed 47 goals for the season with 1.57 goals per 90 minutes. Opposition don record 116 shots on target against them. They get 7 clean sheets wey give them 23.3% clean sheet percentage. Udinese don collect 59 yellow cards and one red card for the campaign.
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Como wey Jean Butez dey guard net don tally 53 goals for the season. Their goals against per 90 na 0.73 with 71 saves and 14 shutouts. They get save percentage of 75.3% with 89 shots on target against them. Como dey rank 4th in European soccer with 57 points and number 1 for goals against with just 22 goals conceeded.
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For the match itself, Udinese price at +110 while Como dey at -130. Over/under na 3 goals. Key players to watch include Nicolo Zaniolo for Udinese wey don score 39 goals in his professional career, and Anastasios Douvikas for Como wey don net 70 goals for his career.
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Josh Schonwald pick Udinese (-130) to win the match against the spread. The game dey available to watch live on DAZN for UK and Paramount+ for USA.
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This Udinese vs Como match na just one example of the bigger problem wey dey affect Italian football. As Serie A teams dey depend more on foreign players, the national team suffer. Italy don already dey struggle for World Cup 2026 qualifiers, with their players posing for team photo before match against Bosnia and Herzegovina for March 31, 2026.
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The timing of this Easter Monday match no help matters. As fans dey celebrate, dem dey watch their local boys warm bench while foreign players dey play. And the problem no be only for small teams – even big clubs dey involved.
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For the same Easter Monday schedule, Juventus go host Genoa as dem try to close the three-point gap between them and Como for fourth place. Dusan Vlahovic dey available for Juventus but unlikely to start as he dey work his way back from injury. Luciano Spalletti confirm this for pre-match press conference but add say “he could give us a hand.”
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Juventus get relatively clean bill of health for the match against Genoa for Allianz Stadium. Mattia Perin remain favourite to start in goal instead of Michele Di Gregorio. For attack, slight doubt dey between whether Jonathan David or Jeremie Boga go start up front.
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Genoa own Brooke Norton-Cuffy no dey available with hamstring injury and could be replaced by either Stefano Sabelli or Aaron Martin according to Sky Sport Italia. Doubts dey for who Daniele De Rossi go start for attack, with Vitinha, Junior Messias, Tommaso Baldanzi and Caleb Ekuban all dey compete for starting spot.
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Kick-off time na 17.00 BST. The game go dey available to watch live and exclusively on DAZN for UK and Paramount+ for USA. Football Italia Liveblog go cover all the pre-match build-up, in-game commentary and post-match reactions.
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After international break, Juventus begin final stretch of campaign with home fixture against Genoa. The Bianconeri go host the Grifone at Allianz Stadium in Turin on Monday (18:00 CET). Luciano Spalletti men dey come from disappointing home draw against Sassuolo, so dem no fit afford to drop additional points, especially with Como starting the round with three-point advantage.
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According to Sky Sport Italia, Spalletti go once again entrust Mattia Perin with starting gloves. The 33-year-old go thus play against his former club. The backline should remain intact, with Gleison Bremer and Lloyd Kelly operating at centre-backs, while Pierre Kalulu and Andrea Cambiaso take the full-back slots.
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For middle of park, Khephren Thuram should start alongside club captain Manuel Locatelli in double pivot. Weston McKennie dey tipped to play as attacking midfielder this time, with Francisco Conceicao and Kenan Yildiz on the wings. Jeremie Boga na favourite to occupy false 9 role, with Spalletti leaving his four strikers on bench.
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La Gazzetta dello Sport dey report same starting lineup, but reveal three selection doubts for Spalletti. First, the manager dey consider restoring Michele Di Gregorio in goal after spending previous month on bench. The 28-year-old goalkeeper get 45% chance of pipping Perin to starting role.
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Second, Teun Koopmeiners don gain some ground on Thuram. The former Atalanta man enjoy positive international break with Dutch national team, so the pink newspaper give him 40% chance to start ahead of his French teammate. Finally, the source claim Dusan Vlahovic (45%) dey push for starting role at Boga expense.
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